1. Technical Field
The invention relates to personal television service. More particularly, the invention relates to a communication system and methods for remote access to centralized personal television service via direct telephone connection or indirect network connection.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advent of videocassette recorders (VCRs), TV viewers are able to record TV program events that are broadcasted in a given time slot and playback the recorded program content later. During the recording, a VCR changes the electrical signals of a program content into magnetic signals and stores the magnetic signals on magnetic tape. When playing back, the VCR changes magnetic signals into electrical signals and the attached TV set displays the program content of the signals on its screen.
With the development of digital technology, the VCRs are being superseded by digital video recorders (DVRs). Like a VCR, the functionality of a DVR is to record broadcasted program events and playback later. During recording, a DVR changes the electrical signals of a program content into digital information, such as MPEG data streams and stores the digital information in a memory device or directly stores the pre-digitized TV signals in the memory. When playing back, the DVR changes the digital information back to analog signals and the attached TV set displays the program content of the signals on its screen.
To record TV program events using a VCR, a TV viewer must manually select a channel and control the VCR or have somebody else to do it. By using a DVR, however, the TV viewer may establish a program recording sequence by programming the DVR according to a TV program guide and have the recording done automatically.
Although the DVR enables users to specify the recording time, channel, and duration for a plurality of events, it cannot meet the increasing needs in defining and capturing the program events in a more intelligent way. For instance, in situations where a user cannot find a TV program guide or he is far away from his DVR and TV set, he will be unable to program his DVR and record the program events that he likes.
What is desired is to establish a communication system through which a TV viewer may access to a centralized TV program guide database and program his DVR anywhere.